I feel a little weird starting a new thread to say 'hi,' but there seems to be the precedent for it, so...
Hi.
Now that that's all sorted out, I'll be going.

What? Oh, intro stuff, right.
I recently discovered this forum while looking up War of the Worlds stuff online, and I've been lurking about trying to get caught up. (Still catching up, actually; there's so much here!)
I was first exposed to War of the Worlds in the mid 1970's when I was a young child, via the 1953 George Pal movie. Around that time, I got exposed to the original story via the Classics Illustrated comic (thanks, Dad!), and not long after that the Marvel Classics comic, and eventually at school with the Pocket Classics edition. I soon read the actual HG Wells novel, one of the first books I read willingly (as in, not for a school assignment). It became one of my favourite stories, and has remained so to this day.
Years later in college, I built a model of the encounter between the tripods & the Thunder Child, one of my favourite scenes in literature. Sadly, the diorama got crushed a few years ago during a move, and I get too dejected when looking at the remains to try to repair it. I have plans to make a new model from scratch sometime in the future.
Given that I love that scene in the book so much, imagine my disappointment at the only film version of it, which came out a couple years ago. Yes, the three-hour epic... I don't hate that film, and I won't retread over well-trodden territory, but I'll just say that I do hope that someday, someone will actually make a definitive adaptation!
Oh, and I'm one of those who liked the 2005 Spielberg movie, which I'll be happy to elaborate on in the appropriate thread.
Back to models... I build models as a hobby, and have plans for a series of dioramas based upon the original novel. (My main modeling interests include WWII, various science fiction topics & films, dinosaurs and some real space.) I hope to post some pics of the work as it progresses, but it might take a while to get started. Real life loves to intrude upon hobbies.

Well, I hope that's enough intro for now. I look forward to participating in some of the discussions. See you around the forum!

Oh, and thanks to the powers-that-be for allowing me to join! I appreciate it.

Craig

PS: I love the Invasion of Earth comic! It's one of the reasons I asked to join the forum. I didn't know if there was any new WotW stuff around that was not only new, but interesting, too. That comic is exactly that, and has me eager for each new update!

Welcome to the forum 'craigr' your background sounds very similar to mine, I was obsessively fascinated by dinosaurs as a kid (what kid isn't) until I was introduced to WOTW in the 70s through Jeff Wayne's musical version, I've been hooked ever since.
I have built models of the Fighting Machines, but usually just as an aid for my paintings (arrange the model in a certain pose and take a photo)
I would be very interested in seeing your models and dioramas and I'm sure the rest of the gang here would.
Please keep posting, it's been a bit quiet around here lately.

Thanks for the welcome, guys! I've enjoyed lurking here for a few weeks or so, but I'm happy to be able to participate now!

I only just got a digital camera a year ago; til then, I was 'old school,' using film. I have some prints of that Thunder Child dio in storage, so if I can dig them up, I'll try to scan them or at the very least, take a digital pic of them & post those.

I'll be sure to keep you all posted when I start working on my WotW models, though I'm guessing it'll be at least a few weeks before I get started.

Oh, I have children, and some of them have been creating paper replicas of the tripods from the 2005 Spielberg film. (I know not everyone liked that film, but the tripods, I thought, were very cool. So, apparently, did my kids!) I'll try to snap some pics & post them to one of the threads in the proper board after the weekend's over.

And I shall pass the torch to the next generation by introducing them to those old comics I mentioned. They've already seen the Classics Illustrated version; now on with the rest!

Forgot to mention something...
I knew about the Jeff Wayne album when it was new, but had never heard it nor seen the entire booklet that came with it until I was in college, several years later. (Someone gave me their copy because they didn't want it anymore!)
Anyway, I've found it interesting to say the least, but I think due in no small part to my late exposure to it, it hasn't resonated as deeply with me as it has with so many people.
Still, when I hear certain bits from it, I can't help but think of the tale it told. Unforgettable.
I must dig out the cd copy I got since then, and give it a listen... it's been a while.

Do you design and build your own models? or do you construct mode-kits?
either way we would be interested in seeing them.

I enjoyed the Spielberg film, even though it was set in the wrong country (no offence meant) and the wrong time, but as has been mentioned before Wells wrote the book as a contemporary novel not a historical one so I suppose it's OK to bring it up to date, but I would like to see a good period set version of this book, That's what I like about Jeff Wayne's musical version, he may have altered the story a little, but the basic feeling of the book is still there, a Victorian society totally unprepared for a war with a technically superior enemy, I think the story works batter the way Wells wrote it.

Models... I tend to build kits, but rarely as they are 'off the shelf.' I usually modify them to make them more accurate, or else 'kitbash' them to make my own designs. (This works well in sci-fi, but not as well in historical models, unless it's to modify a battleship into a slightly different class. I did just that with some USS Arizona models to convert them to different classes of ships for a diorama I made of the Pearl Harbor attack.) I've also done some scratchbuilding, as well as making some of my parts & moulding/casting them.
I'm never satisfied with just having a model sit on a shelf to collect dust. I like to put them in scenes, to give them both context and scale for the viewer. It's my dioramas that collect dust, then! I haven't been able to build as much stuff in recent years, but as I coach my kids in the hobby, I hope to get back into my own projects. One priority on my list is a dinosaur diorama involving modified kits that's mostly assembled, but needs fianl paint & finishing scenic work. And as an off-shoot of dinos, I'm trying to make a series of kaiju models: those giant Japanese monsters like Godzilla & his ilk.
Oh, and of course the WotW dios I've already mentioned. I'm never going to get done at this rate...
I'll try to post some pics as time allows, and as I find & make minor repairs to older stuff. (More casualties of the recent move I've mentioned.)

War of the Worlds... As I said, I'd love to see an accurate & faithful adaptation made some year. Preferably sooner than later!

Oh, no offence taken at the 'wrong country' comment! I'm genuinely curious why there hasn't (to my knowledge) been a WotW film made in England/Great Britain, let alone set there, regardless of what era the film is set in. (For the sake of my point, I'm ignoring the Pendragon film.)

Back in the 70's I used to build the 'Aurora' Dino' model kits (I think they are made by 'Revell' now) I never got them all 'The Mammoth' and 'The Swamp' are two I know about, missing from my dusty attic collection. there are probably more I don't know about, I liked the way the bases all interlocked.

An uncle of mine gave me all those old Aurora bases; I've got them in a box somewhere. I don't know if the current Revell (or is it Revell/Monogram?) releases have the bases with them, though. I also know they haven't re-released all the kits (yet).
I had all the Airfix dino kits from the 70's & early 80's (USAirfix on my side of the pond). They were nice; good detail, easy enough for a kid to assemble, small enough to fit on one shelf. I still like them.

As for the Pendragon epic, I've seen it. I own a copy. I don't think I'll ever watch it again, at least not all the way through. Pity they couldn't have had much tighter editing and even marginally better sfx that didn't look like animatics from a rough print.

Woo-hoo! I just noticed I'm now a member, instead of a newbie. Woo! Now I'm just several hundred posts away from the rest of you regulars...
At least my posts have been more than "Yeh, I agree, LOL!" (Any of you ever see the funny online short 'How to Behave on an Internet Forum'?)

OK, here it is:
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-beh ... rnet-forumIt takes a little time to load, and for some reason, the last time I tried to watch it, it jammed about 3/4 of the way through. If you get to see the whole thing, after it's done, scroll down to the comments, where the entire thing is transcripted, plus a few bonus rules not in the video.

Last edited by craigr on Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have expanded my vocabulary after watching 'How to Behave on an Internet Forum' so I could have called you a 'troll' coming round here, stirring up trouble Wow you've only been here three days and already I want to pock you in the eye with a stick, I'm impressed.

Actually, I've been wondering if Mr Eve is going to zap me with a heat ray for my comments about the 2005 Spielberg WotW which, if taken a certain way, could be misconstrued as an attack against his review of that film. I'd hate to think that's going on, especially after I asked to be here & he graciously allowed me to join. Great, now I'm paranoid...

I wouldn't worry too much, we haven't heard from Lee for about a year, he only pops in to tell us the sites subscription runs out in June and if we want to continue coming here we had better cough-up some money. that's not to say we don't appreciate what he has done for us.

Welcome Craig. I don't get to come here as much now. Children and work and the lack of debate keep me away. But I do pop in from time to time to catch up on the Invasion of Earth comic Peter is lavishing on us.

I'm afraid you've missed this forums heyday. I was totally addicted to it once but who knows maybe you can get some debates going again, which you already have.

Hey, Loz, thanks!
Actually, as I've been playing 'catch up' here, I've seen a few debates I've wanted to comment on, but thought it best to (a) wait til I'd settled in a bit more to show that I'm not just trying to stir up a hornet's nest, and (b) I don't want to actually stir up a hornet's nest.
That's not to say I won't speak my mind, nor be as up front & honoest as possible. I just prefer to choose my battles, so to speak.
Still, I enjoy differing points of view as much as agreeing points of view; it all adds to my understanding of things, and has expanded my enjoyment of things I might not otherwise have encountered. Though that's a general statement about life, it applies to this forum, as well, of course.

I find the debates very useful for my comic sorry, Graphic Novel It can set your mind off in a different direction, because someones interpretation of a scene in the book is totally different to yours.
We may not agree with your opinion but we agree you have the right to voice your opinion. (That's probably a bad misquotation )

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